Control arrangement and method for controlling a position of a transfer device of a harvesting machine

ABSTRACT

Present invention is an adjustable transfer device for unloading processed crop onto a container of a transport vehicle including a control arrangement with an electronic control unit, among other integrated components. Electronic control unit calculates position of expected point of incidence of crop flow on the container within field of view of optical image capture device, displays image of container together with symbol representing calculated expected point of incidence of crop flow on container on display, receives adjustment inputs from user interface for adjusting position of actuator and thus of adjustable transfer device, updates position of symbol in image on display, receives confirmation input from user interface once symbol in image on display is in appropriate position, derives at least one feature in image representing container, and tracks container within output signal of image processing system based on retrieved image feature and controls actuator accordingly to fill container with crop.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.14/243,323, filed Apr. 2, 2014, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/807,376, titled CONTROL ARRANGEMENTAND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A POSITION OF A TRANSFER DEVICE OF AHARVESTING MACHINE and filed Apr. 2, 2013, each of which areincorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present invention pertains to a control arrangement for controllinga position of an adjustable transfer device of a harvesting machine.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Forage harvesters are used in agriculture to harvest plants from afield, to chop them and to unload them by means of an adjustabletransfer device onto a container of a transport vehicle that drives on aside of the forage harvester. The position of the adjustable transferdevice, normally arranged in the form of a spout, can be controlled byan operator by means of inputs on a hydraulic handle and actuators,normally hydraulic cylinders, in order to move the adjustable transferdevice into a position in which the crop is unloaded onto the containerof the transport vehicle, but not onto the ground. Usually, theadjustable transfer device can be rotated around a vertical axis, tiltedaround a horizontal axis to adjust the height of its outer end, and anend flap can be rotated in order to define the exhaust direction of thecrop.

Since the control of the adjustable transfer device is exhausting forthe forage harvester operator, automatic solutions have been proposedfor controlling the transfer device that use data on the relativeposition of the harvesting machine and the container, or a optical imagecapture device with an image processing system. The latter however arenot always able to identify the container correctly, in particular whena field is opened, i.e. the forage harvester harvests a first strip ofthe field with standing crop on both sides such that the transportvehicle needs to follow the forage harvester, and the container to befilled is towed behind a tractor following the forage harvester, suchthat the distance between the forage harvester and the container isrelatively large.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

A harvesting machine comprises a crop receiving header, a cropprocessing unit for processing crop received from the header and anadjustable transfer device for unloading processed crop onto a containerof a transport vehicle. A control arrangement for controlling a positionof the adjustable transfer device of the harvesting machine includes aoptical image capture device or camera mounted on the harvestingmachine. The optical image capture device has a field of view and animage signal output connected to an image processing system. The controlarrangement further comprises an electronic control unit connected to anoutput of the image processing system. At least one actuator foradjusting the position of the adjustable transfer device is controlledby the electronic control unit. At least one sensor for sensing theactuator-controlled position of the adjustable transfer device has asignal output connected to the electronic control unit. Further, adisplay unit and an user interface connected to the electronic controlunit.

The electronic control unit is operable to perform or execute thefollowing steps:

(a) to display an image of the container captured by the optical capturedevice overlaid with a symbol representing, for example, but not limitedto, a predetermined location of the container, such as a front edge, orincidence of crop flow ion the container, on the display unit,

(b) to calculate a position of the spout relative to a predeterminedlocation of a container and an expected point of incidence of crop flowon a container within the field of view of the optical image capturedevice based upon a sensor signal from at least one sensor and an outputsignal of the image processing system,

(c) to receive adjustment inputs from the user interface for adjustingthe position of the actuator and thus of the adjustable transfer deviceand to update the position of the symbol overlaid on the image on thedisplay unit according to the altered sensor output;

(d) to receive a confirmation input from the user interface once thesymbol in the image on the display is in an appropriate position withrespect to the displayed image of the container in order to fill thecontainer with crop, and to derive at least one feature in the imagerepresenting the container; and

(e) to subsequently track the container within the output signal of theimage processing system based on the image feature retrieved in step (d)and to control the actuator accordingly to fill the container with crop.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the disclosure is described in detail below withreference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1A is a side view of a harvesting machine (e.g., forage harvester);

FIG. 1B is a side view of a transport vehicle, which follows theharvesting machine;

FIG. 2 is a top view illustration of a rear unloading arrangement of theharvesting vehicle and the transport vehicle following the harvestingvehicle in a field;

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a control arrangement controlling theposition of an adjustable transfer device of the harvesting machine;

FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of a control arrangement controlling theposition of the transport vehicle;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are flow diagrams showing operation of the controlarrangement;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of the tracking steps of an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the tracking steps of another embodiment ofthe present invention utilizing GPS;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of one embodiment of the present inventionutilizing GPS to track the transport vehicle relative to the harvestingvehicle; and

FIGS. 8A and 8B are photographs illustrating a transport vehicle with acontainer with an edge used for alignment of indicia, such ascross-hairs, therewith for spout orientation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A combination of two agricultural machines shown in FIGS. 1A and 1Bcomprises a self-propelled harvesting machine 10 in the form of a forageharvester (FIG. 1A) and a transport vehicle 12 (FIG. 1B) in the form ofa self-propelled tractor, which, by way of a tow bar 14 pulls a trailer16, which comprises a container 18.

The harvesting machine 10 has a frame 20, which is carried byfront-driven wheels 22 and steerable rear wheels 24. The harvestingmachine 10 is operated from a driver's cabin 26, from which an operatorcan see a harvesting attachment 28, in the form of a corn headerattachment, which is affixed to an entry channel 30 on the front side10A of the forage harvester 10. Crop plants 58 harvested from a field 34by way of the harvesting attachment 28 are conveyed to a cutter head 36via a gathering conveyor (not shown) with pre-compression rollers (notshown) located in the entry channel 30. The cutter head 36 acts in thisembodiment as a crop processing unit for processing the crop plants 58received from the harvesting attachment 28, hence chops them into smallpieces and delivers them to a discharge accelerator 38. Apost-processing device 42 with two kernel processing rollers (not shown)is located removably in the crop flow between the cutter head 36 and thedischarge accelerator 38. The post-processing device 42 can be movedinto an inoperative position in case that it is not needed, for examplefor a grass harvest, or entirely removed from the harvesting machine 10.

The driving of the aforementioned drivable units of the harvestingmachine 10 and the harvesting attachment 28 takes place by way of acombustion engine 44. The crops discharged from the dischargeaccelerator 38 exit the harvesting machine 10 to the container 18 thatcan be moving behind, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, or alongside theharvesting machine 10, via an adjustable transfer device 40 in the formof a discharge spout 45, which can be rotated around an approximatelyvertical axis by way of a first actuator 46 and can be adjusted at atilt angle by way of a second actuator 48. The discharge direction canbe changed by way of a flap 50, the angle of which can be adjusted byway of a third actuator 52.

The transport vehicle 12 and the trailer 16 with the container 18 have aconventional structure. The transport vehicle 12 comprises front,steerable wheels 64 and rear, driven wheels 66, which are supported on acarrying structure 68, which carries a driver's cabin 70.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show the harvesting machine 10 and the transport vehicle12, respectively, in side views. One can see that the harvesting machine10 drives over the field 34 in a forward direction A, which is in FIG.1A to the left, in order to harvest the crop plants 58. The transportvehicle 12, FIG. 1B, follows behind the harvesting machine 10 in aforward direction B. This situation occurs when a field 34 is opened,for example when only an entry to the field is available at the centerof a side edge of a field 34, such that there is no possibility for thetransport vehicle 12 to drive alongside the harvesting machine 10without damaging crop plants 58. During subsequent passes over the field34, the transport vehicle 12 can drive on a harvested part of the field34 on the left or right side of the harvesting machine 10. Theharvesting machine 10 then moves along an edge of crops, whichrepresents a border between a harvested area of the field 34 and thestill standing plant population consisting of crop plants 58 on thefield 34, and is reaping the crop plants 58. The transport vehicle 12 isthen thus moving on the harvested part 56 of the field, parallel to theharvesting machine 10, along a path on which the crop plants 58 choppedby the harvesting machine 10 arrive at the container 18 by way of theadjustable transfer device 40. The transport vehicle 12 must thereforealways move parallel next to the harvesting machine 10.

The harvesting machine 10 is steered by a driver sitting in the driver'scabin 26 or by a steering device, which operates automatically. Thetransport vehicle 12 is equipped with a steering device so as tofacilitate or automate the parallel movement relative to the harvestingmachine 10, and which can be omitted. The harvesting machine 10 couldalso be any other self-propelling harvesting machine, such as a potatoor beet harvester.

The harvesting machine 10 is equipped with a first position-determiningdevice 72, which is located on the roof 73 of the cabin 26. A firstradio antenna 74 is also positioned there. The transport vehicle 12 isequipped with a second position-determining device 76, which is locatedon roof 77 of the cabin 70. A second radio antenna 78 is also locatedthere.

Now turning to FIG. 2, which is a top view of the harvesting machine(forage harvester) 10 opening a field by harvesting and chopping thecrop plants 58 from a section of the field as it moves forward. Theforage harvester 10 then unloads the chopped material through the spout45 to a container 18 (e.g., cart) pulled by the transport vehicle 12(e.g. tractor), which is following behind the harvesting machine 10.

In FIG. 2, the distance D of the harvesting machine (forage harvester)10 and the transport vehicle 12 can be variable, and the spout 45 needsto be adjusted so the material coming out from the spout 45 will land inthe container 18. In addition, the transport vehicle 12 path might notbe perfectly aligned with the forage harvester 10, and the spout 45 alsoneeds to be adjusted to take into account the left/right offset.

Now, reference is made to FIGS. 3A and 3B, in which among other things,the individual components of the position-determining devices 72, 76, anelectronic control unit 112, actuators 46, 48, 52 for the adjustment ofthe adjustable transfer device 40 and discharge spout 45, sensors 128,130, 132 for the detection of their actual position and the steeringdevices of the transport vehicle 12 (FIG. 3B) and the harvesting machine10 (FIG. 3A) are schematically shown. Electronic control unit 112includes a processor and memory. Operating and executable software arestored in memory and executed by the processor. Sensor 128 detects theposition of the adjustable transfer device 40 around the vertical axis,as adjusted by actuator 46. Sensor 130 detects the tilt position of theadjustable transfer device 40, as adjusted by actuator 48. Sensor 132detects the angular position of the flap 50, as adjusted by actuator 52.Some of the above mentioned components are also illustrated in FIG. 1A.

Now turning to FIG. 3A, the first position-determining device 72 is onboard the harvesting machine 10 and comprises an antenna 74 and anevaluation circuit 82, which is connected to the antenna 80. The antenna80 receives signals from satellites of a position-determining system,such as GPS, Galileo, or Glonass, which are supplied to the evaluationcircuit 82. With the aid of the signals of the satellites, theevaluation circuit 82 determines the actual position of the antenna 80.The evaluation circuit 82 is also connected to a correctiondata-receiving antenna 84, which receives radio waves radiated fromreference stations at known locations. With the aid of the radio waves,correction data for the improvement of the accuracy of theposition-determining device 72 are produced by the evaluation circuit82. The evaluation circuit 82 transmits its position data by way of abus line 86 to a control device 88.

The control device 88 is connected via an interface 90 to a receptionand transmission device 92, which is in turn connected to the radioantenna 74. The reception and transmission device 92 receives andgenerates radio waves, which are picked up and radiated by the antenna74.

Analogously, the second position-determining device 76 is located onboard the transport vehicle 12. The second position-determining device76 comprises an antenna 94 and an evaluation circuit 96, which isconnected to the antenna 94. The antenna 94 receives signals fromsatellites of the same position-determining system as the antenna 80,which are supplied to the evaluation circuit 96. With the aid of thesignals of the satellites, the evaluation circuit 96 determines theactual position of the antenna 94. The evaluation circuit 96 is alsoconnected to a correction data-receiving antenna 98, which receivesradio waves radiated from reference stations at known sites. With theaid of the radio waves, correction data for the improvement of theaccuracy of the position-determining device 76 are generated by theevaluation circuit 96.

By way of a bus line 100, the evaluation circuit 96 transmits itsposition data to a control device 102. The control device 102 isconnected via an interface 104 to a reception and transmission device106, which in turn is connected to the radio antenna 78. The receptionand transmission device 106 receives and generates radio waves, whichare picked up and radiated by the antenna 78. By the reception andtransmission devices 92, 106 and the radio antennae 74, 78, it ispossible to transmit data from the control device 88 to the controldevice 102 and vice-versa. The connection between the radio antennae 74,78 can be direct, for example, in a permissible radio range, such ascitizen's band radio, or something similar, or made available via one ormore relay stations, for example, if the reception and transmissiondevices 92, 106 and the radio antennae 74, 78 work according to the GSMor the UMTS standard or another suitable standard for mobile telephones.

The control device 102 is connected to a steering device 108, whichcontrols the steering angle of the front, steerable wheels 64 of thetransport vehicle 12. Furthermore, the control device 102 sends speedsignals to a speed specification device 110, which, via a variation ofthe engine rpm of the transport vehicle 12 and/or the gear transmission,controls the speed of the transport vehicle 12. Moreover, the controldevice 102 is connected to a permanent storage unit 120.

On board the harvesting machine 10, the control device 88 is connectedto the electronic control unit 112, which, together with the actuators46, 48, 52 it controls and the sensors 128, 130, 132 connected to it,forms a control arrangement for the control of the transfer of the cropsfrom the harvesting machine 10 to the container 18 of the transportvehicle 12. The electronic control unit 112 is connected to a steeringdevice 114, which controls the steering angle of the rear, steerablewheels 24. Furthermore, the electronic control unit 112 sends speedsignals to a speed specification device 116, which, via a variation ofthe gear transmission, controls the propelling speed of the harvestingmachine 10. The electronic control unit 112 is also connected to athroughput sensor 118, which detects the distance between thepre-compression rollers in the entry channel 30, with a sensor for thedetection of the position of sensing arms 62 placed on a divider tip ofthe harvesting attachment 28; a permanent storage unit 122, via valvedevices (not shown) with the actuators 46, 48, and 52 and with sensors128, 130, 132, which respectively detect the position of one of theactuators 46, 48, and 52, and with an optical image capture device 136,which is placed more or less in the middle of the adjustable transferdevice 40 on its left or right or underside 40A (FIG. 1A), and duringthe harvesting operation, is aligned on the container 18 and ispreferably implemented as a stereo-camera having two lenses 137 and twoimage sensors (not shown) arranged one above the other or side by side.The electronic control unit 112 receives the signals from the opticalimage capture device 136 via an image processing system 138 thatprocesses the image signals from a signal output of the optical imagecapture device 136 in order to extract the position of features of thecontainer 18 within the field of view 135 of the optical image capturedevice 136.

Further, the electronic control unit 112 is connected to an userinterface 140A mounted in the cabin 28. The user interface 140Acomprises a display unit 142 and an user interface with keys 144, whichcould also be complemented or replaced by a touch-sensitive display unit142A. Another user interface 140B with at least one key 148 is providedon a hydraulic handle 146 (not shown) that is pivotally mounted andcoupled with a sensor 150 connected to the electronic control unit 112in order to receive manual propelling speed commands by the operator inthe cabin 28. Some of the above mentioned components are alsoillustrated in FIG. 1A.

Operation of the electronic control unit 112 are schematically shown inFIGS. 4A and 4B. Now turning to FIG. 4A, after start in S300, i.e. aftera harvest operation switch (which might be one of the keys 144 oranother key, not shown, on a dashboard in the cabin 28) of theharvesting machine 10 is switched on, and the operation of theelectronic control unit 112 is initialized, step 302 follows. In step302, it is checked whether a container search command was received fromthe user interfaces 140A, 140B (FIG. 3A), thus from a key 144 or a key148 assigned to input the desire of the operator to locate a container18 at a position where it is difficult to locate by the optical imagecapture device 136. Such a position is, in particular, the positionbehind the harvesting machine 10 and the transport vehicle 12, as shownin FIGS. 1A and 1B, since the container 18 is relatively far away fromthe optical image capture device 136. Under certain circumstances, asbad visibility or a container 18 having a color similar to the color ofthe field 34, it can however also be useful and possible to input acontainer search command when the container 18 is alongside theharvesting machine 10.

If the result of step S302 is “no,” step S304 follows. In step S304, itis checked whether the adjustable transfer device 40 is in a rearunloading position according to the signal of the sensor 128. If this isnot the case, step S306 is executed, in which the electronic controlunit 112 controls actuators 46, 48, 52 according to the signal from theoptical image capture device 136, processed by image processing system138. This means that in the image from the optical image capture device136, features are identified, for example the upper edge 19 of thecontainer 18 (FIG. 1B), and the actuators 46, 48, 52 are controlled suchthat the crop flow expelled by the adjustable transfer device 40, hitsthe interior of the container 18. A feedback for the impact point of thecrop plants 58 on the container 18 can be derived from the image signalfrom the optical image capture device 136. Further, since the opticalimage capture device 136 is a stereo camera, its signals allow toestimate a distance between the harvesting machine 10 and the container18 and the height of the upper edges 19 of the container 18 over ground,such that the actuators 46, 48 and 52 can be controlled according to aknown kinematic model of the free crop flow downstream the adjustabletransfer device 40.

On the other hand, if the result in step S302 or S304 is “yes,” theelectronic control unit 112 proceeds with step S308. This step and thefollowing ones are used to find a container 18 in the image of theoptical image capture device 136 in difficult cases, such as a rearunloading situation shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, in which it is not easyfor the electronic control unit 112 to identify the container 18 in thementioned image.

In step 308, the electronic control unit 112 calculates a position of anexpected point of incidence of the crop flow on the container 18, if itis within the field of view 135 of the optical image capture device 136(FIG. 1A). The calculation first identifies the container 18 in thefield of view 135 in an image captured by the optical image capturedevice 136. Next, expected points of incident within the container 18are calculated based on the captured image. Thus, if no container 18 isin the field of view 135 of the optical image capture device 136, theprocess terminates here and goes back to step S300. If on the other handa container 18 is in the field of view 135 of the optical image capturedevice 136, the position of an expected point of incidence of the cropflow on the identified container 18 is calculated, based upon the sensorsignal in order to learn the direction of the crop flow after leavingthe adjustable transfer device 40, and based on an output signal of theimage processing system 138, since the electronic control unit 112 needsto know the distance between the harvesting machine 10 and the container18 in order to derive the expected point of incidence. The distancebetween the discharge spout 45 of harvesting machine 10 (or the machine10 itself, e.g. the rotation point of the discharge spout 45 around thevertical axis) and the front edge 19A of the container 18 can be derivedfrom the signal of the image processing system 138 since the opticalimage capture device 136 is a stereo camera. If the optical imagecapturing device 136 were a monocular camera, the size (pixels) of thenear edge of the container 18 in the image could be used as an estimatefor the mentioned distance. Additionally or instead, the mentioneddistance can be derived from position data of the harvesting machine 10using the position-determining device 72 and a position of the transportvehicle 12 transmitted by the radio antennas 74, 78. The orientation ofthe spout 45 based on position of actuator 46, 48, or 52 is used todetermine the path of crop flow.

In step S308, the known model kinematic of the free crop flow downstreamthe adjustable transfer device 40 is applied, like in step S306, tocalculate where the crop flow would theoretically intersect top plane ofthe container 18 opening. This position can be calculated in absolutecoordinates, for example using the position data from the firstposition-determining device 72, or in relative coordinates with anorigin for example at the rotation point of the adjustable transferdevice 40 around the approximately vertical axis.

Step S308 is followed by step S310, in which an image of the container18 is shown on the display unit 142 together with a symbol 800 (FIGS. 8Aand 8B) representing alignment of spout 45 with front edge 19A ofcontainer 18 that coincides with the calculated expected point ofincidence of the crop flow on the container discussed above. In otherwords, the crop flow will intersect the calculated expected point ofincidence when symbol 800 is aligned with front edge 19A of container18. The image can be non-processed, i.e. directly come from the opticalimage capture device 136, or be pre-processed by the image processingsystem 138 in order to remove unimportant details and to emphasize, forexample by adding color or changing brightness, features identified inthe image that might resemble the container 18.

In step S312, the electronic control unit 112 checks whether aconfirmation input was received via an assigned one of the keys 144and/or 148 from the user interface 140A, 140B. By depressing the key,the operator in the cabin 28 can confirm that according to his or heropinion the symbol in the image on the display unit 142 is in anappropriate position with respect to the displayed image of thecontainer 18 to fill the container 18 with crop (FIG. 8B). Thisconfirmation input could also be input by means of a touch-sensitivedisplay unit 142A or orally or by a suitable gesture detector. Thus, ifthe result of step S312 is “no,” it can be assumed that the symbol 800shown on the display unit 142 is outside the image of the container 18.

In this case, step S314 follows in which the electronic control unit 112can receive adjustment inputs from the user interface (by means of keys144 and/or 148) for adjusting the position of one or more of theactuators 46, 48, 52 and thus of the adjustable transfer device 40. Theelectronic control unit 112 thus controls the position of the actuators46, 48 and/or 52. Step S314 is followed again by step S308, in which anew image is taken by the optical image capture device 136, and by stepS310, in which the position of the symbol 800 in the image on thedisplay unit 142 is updated according to the output of the sensors 128,130, 132, which is now changed due to the movement of one or more of theactuators 46, 48, 52. In the situation where symbol 800 is not alignedwith front edge 19A of container 18 (FIG. 8A.), the operator can movesymbol 800 in alignment with front edge 19A of container 18 therebyactuating actuator 46 to rotate spout 45 into position aligned withcontainer 18 for rear unloading in which the symbol 800 is located onthe display unit 142 aligned with the image of front edge 19A of thecontainer 18 (FIG. 8B). The adjustment of the symbol 800 to the frontedge 19A of the container 18 can be performed, if necessary, in thehorizontal direction and in the vertical direction, be it simultaneouslyor subsequently, dependent on the operator's choice or as provided by anautomated system. Another embodiment of the present invention considersthe container 18 being pulled on a side of the harvesting machine 10where the symbol 800 can be adjusted to align with the upper lateraledge of the container 18 or a side opening thereof. Other embodiments ofthe present invention can accommodate container orientations relative tothe harvesting machine 10, whether the container is aft, forward, oralong-side of the harvesting machine 10, and any feature of thecontainer 18 within the field of view of the optical capture device 136.

On the other hand, if the operator has confirmed in step S312 that thesymbol 800 in the image on the display unit 142 is in an appropriateposition with respect to the displayed image of the container 18 (FIG.8B.) to fill the container 18 with crop, step S316 is executed, in whichthe control unit 112 derives at least one feature in the imagerepresenting the container. This is relatively easy, since the container18 can be assumed to be in close vicinity to symbol 800. The electroniccontrol unit 112 thus uses in step S316 the known position of the symboland suited features in the vicinity of the symbol 800 in the image. Theelectronic control unit 112 can identify the upper edges 19A of thecontainer 18 in the image. The identified feature is preferablyhighlighted in the image on the display unit 142, for example by coloror brightness.

In the following step S318, the electronic control unit 112 tracks thecontainer 18 within the output signal of the image processing system 138based on the image feature retrieved in step S316 and controls theactuators 46, 48, 52 in a suitable manner, as described with respect tostep S306, in order to fill the container 18 with the harvested cropwithout spilling significant amounts of crop onto the ground. In stepS318, actual images can be shown on the display unit 142 (FIG. 8B), likein step S310, in order to inform the operator about the position of thecontainer 18 as detected by the electronic control unit 112 (preferablyhighlighting the detected and tracked feature of the container 18) andthe expected location of the crop impact point on the container 18 bymeans of the symbol 800.

FIG. 4A can be summarized as follows:

S300: Start

S302: Container Search Command Received (key 148)

S304: Adjustable transfer device 40 in Rear Position (Sensor 128)

S306: Control Actuators 46, 48, 52 according to signal from imagecapture device (e.g., camera) 136.

S308: Calculate a position of the spout 45 (or transfer device) relativeto a predetermined location of a container and an expected point ofincidence of the crop flow on a container within the field of view ofthe optical image capture device based upon the sensor signal and on anoutput signal of the image processing system.

S310: Display an image of the container 18 together with a symbol 800 onthe display unit representing the alignment of spout 45 with front edge19A of container 18, which is coincident with the calculated expectedpoint of incidence of the crop flow on the container. Though Step 310 ispresented chronologically or sequentially following Step 308, oneembodiment of the present invention (not illustrated) provides for Step310 to precede Step 308.

S312: Confirmation input from the user interface received to confirmthat the symbol in the image on the display is in an appropriateposition with respect to the displayed image of the container to fillthe container with crop?

S314: Receive adjustment inputs from the user interface for adjustingthe position of the actuator(s) 46, 48, 52 and control the actuator(s)46, 48, 52.

S316: Derive at least one feature in the image representing thecontainer 18.

S318: Track the container 18 within the output signal of the imageprocessing system based on the image feature retrieved in step S316 andcontrol the actuator(s) accordingly to fill the container 18 with crop.

Now turning to FIG. 4B that can be summarized as follows:

S320: Start.

S322: Rear Unload Command from User Interface.

S324: Position spout automatically for rear unloading. Any commerciallyavailable software that performs the automated spout positioningfunction can be incorporated into the present invention. Electroniccontrol unit 112 receives the rear unload command from the userinterface 140A. The ECU 112 manipulates actuators 46, 48, 52 to positionthe spout 45 into a known orientation that is reasonable for rearunloading. Sensors 128, 130, 132 provide feedback to the ECU 112 toclose the feedback loop on the orientation of the spout 45.

S326: Image showing a visual alignment indicator 800 (e.g., cross hairs,cross or target as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B) to be aligned with frontedge 19A of the container. The visual alignment indicator is created inthe electronic control unit 112. The visual alignment indicator 800 isoverlaid on top of the image from the camera 136 and streamed to thedisplay unit 142 that the operator sees. Ideally, the operator wouldmaneuver the spout 45 of the harvester 10 such that the visual alignmentindicator 800 is pointed to the front edge 19A of the contain 18 andpress a button to engage the system. The system would then identify thefront edge 19A of the container 18 and track its position.

S328: Confirmation of input from operator (Yes or No)

S330: If S328 indicates no confirmation of input from operator, thenspout adjustments are made and repeat S326.

S332: If S328 indicates confirmation of input from operator, then thetracking algorithm automatically chooses salient features to be used fortracking the front edge 19A of the container 18. The salient featuresare unique regions in the images that are on the front side of thecontainer 18.

S334: Track features and actuate spout. Once the salient features on thefront side of the container 18 are selected, the crosshairs 800 couldeither disappear from the overlay or the software could automaticallyadjust the crosshairs 800 to point at the center of the front edge 19Aof the container 18.

It will become apparent that various modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. For example, one or morefunctions of the electronic control unit 112 can be provided by separateelectronic control units, not shown. In steps S306 and S318, control ofthe adjustable transfer device 40 can be augmented according to arelative position of the container 18 with respect to the harvestingmachine 10 derived from position data of the harvesting machine 10 usingthe position-determining device 72 and a position of the transportvehicle 12 transmitted by the radio antennas 74, 94.

Now turning to FIG. 5 to illustrate one embodiment of the trackingprocesses of the present invention for rear unloading.

Block 510: Indicator 800, such as cross hairs (FIGS. 8A and 8B), arealigned with the front edge 19A of the Container 18.

Block 512: Stereo Camera captures the salient features from the video(FIGS. 8A and 8B) and 3-D data near the front edge 19A of the container18 and use it as the tracking template.

Block 514: The relative location of the front edge 19A of the containerwith respect to the forage harvester 10 is computed from the 3-D stereomeasurement of the salient features. The salient features of the frontedge 19A are identified automatically by the tracking algorithm based onunique appearance or shape.

Block 516: The horizontal direction, tilt and flap of the dischargespout is adjusted based on the relative location of the front edge 19Awith respect to the forage harvester 10.

Block 518: A check is performed whether the rear unloading process isterminated by the operator. If the check is “Yes,” then the processcontinues to Block 522 and the procedure to done. If the check is “No,”then the process continues to Block 520 to capture a new image from thecamera of the container and the process returns to Block 514 forcontinued processing.

Now turning to FIG. 6 for an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention that utilizes position measuring devices on both theharvesting machine and transporting vehicle to assist the opticalcapture device in measuring the relative motion between the harvestingmachine (forage harvester) 10 and transport vehicle 12 of FIG. 7.

Block 610: An indicator 800, such as a cross hairs, is aligned with thefront edge 19A of the container (FIGS. 8A and 8B) and spout 45 isadjusted to align with the front edge 19A of the container 18 asdiscussed above.

Block 612: A stereo camera 136 (FIG. 1A) captures the salient featuresfrom the video and 3-D data near the front edge 19A of the container anduse it as the tracking template.

Block 614: A series of steps are performed:

Compute the relative location of the front edge 19A of the containerwith respect to the forage harvester 10 from the 3-D stereo measurementof the salient features.

Compute the relative location X₁ of the forage harvester 10 and thetransport vehicle 12 based on their GPS coordinates from theirrespective GPSs 700, 702.

Compute the relative location X₂ of the first edge 19A of the container16 to the transport vehicle 12 from the GPS coordinates and the 3-Dstereo measurements of the salient features of the front edge 19A of thecontainer 18 (relative location X₂ is an offset computed once in thisstep).

Block 615: Start Unloading Material, if not already started;

Block 616: New GPS coordinates of the forage harvester 10 and transportvehicle 12 are received and combined with the relative location X₂ ofthe container 18 with respect to the transport vehicle 12 to get therelative location (X₁+X₂) of the container 18 with respect to the forageharvester 10.

Block 617: Align cross hair of indicator 800 and spout 45 accordingly tomaintain accurate discharge of the material into container 18.

Block 618: A check is performed to determine whether the rear unloadingprocess is terminated by the operator. If check is “Yes,” then theprocess continues to Block 620. If check is “No,” then the processreturns to Block 616 to continue the process.

While the disclosure has been described in detail and with reference tospecific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in theart that various changes and modifications can be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the embodiments. Thus, it isintended that the present disclosure cover the modifications andvariations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of controlling a position of adischarge spout of a forage harvester to distribute material into acontainer of a transfer vehicle comprising the steps of: a. positioningthe discharge spout for unloading material into the container; b.showing a visual alignment indicator on a display unit of the forageharvester; c. aligning the visual alignment indicator with apredetermined location of the container shown on the display unit of theforage harvester; d. actuating the discharge spout based on thealignment of the visual alignment indicator to align the discharge spoutwith the predetermined location of the container during materialunloading; e. tracking the predetermined location of the container; andf. repeating steps d and e until material unloading is terminated. 2.The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step ofdetermining a point of incidence of crop flow with an opening of thecontainer.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein step (f) furthercomprising the step of repeating step (c).
 4. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the predetermined location is a front edge.
 5. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined location is anupper lateral edge.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein thepredetermined location is a side opening.
 7. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the predetermined location is an expected point ofincidence of crop flow into the container.
 8. A method of controlling aposition of a discharge spout of a forage harvester to distributematerial into a container of a transfer vehicle during materialunloading comprising the steps of: a. aligning an indicator with animage of a predetermined location of the container on a display, whereinthe indicator is in communication with the discharge spout; b. aligningthe discharge spout with the predetermined location of the containerbased on alignment of the indicator in step (a); c. capturing featuresof the container in proximity of the predetermined location of thecontainer; d. receiving GPS coordinates for the forage harvester and thetransfer vehicle; e. computing a relative location of the front edge ofthe container with respect to the forage harvester based on the capturedfeatures of the predetermined location of the container; f. computing arelative location X₁ of the forage harvester and the transport vehiclebased on their respective GPS coordinates; g. computing a relativelocation of the front edge of the container to the transport vehiclefrom the GPS coordinates of the transport vehicle and the capturedfeatures of the front edge of the container to form an offset X₂; h.receiving subsequent GPS coordinates of the forage harvester and thetransport vehicle; i. combining the subsequent GPS coordinates with theoffset X₂ of the container with respect to the transport vehicle tocalculate a new relative location (X₁+X₂) of the front edge of thecontainer with respect to the forage harvester; and j. repeating stepsh, and i until material unloading is terminated.
 9. The method accordingto claim 8, wherein step (j) further comprising the step of repeatingsteps (a) and (b).
 10. The method according to claim 8, wherein thepredetermined location is a front edge.
 11. The method according toclaim 8, wherein the predetermined location is an upper lateral edge.12. The method according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined locationis a side opening.
 13. The method according to claim 8, wherein thepredetermined location is an expected point of incidence of crop flowinto the container.